1. Related Applications
There are no applications related hereto now filed in this or any foreign country.
2. Field of Invention
My invention relates generally to compartmentalized receptacles and more particularly to a disposable prepared food tray having one or more associated condiment compartments.
3. Description of Prior Art
The take out prepared food industry has developed the practice of merchandising foods in disposable containers, principally of a tray-like configuration and a semi-rigid structure, generally formable in some economic fashion from sheet materials, such as plastic or paper. Oftentimes it is desirable to merchandise some sort of condiment or sauce with the principal comestible, and this commonly has been done as in the case of salt and pepper with many foods, catsup with french fries, mustard with hamburgers, tartar sauce with fish, and the like. Because of consumer preference and the aesthetics of flavor and texture, condiments and sauces have commonly been supplied in separate containers or in some other manner of physical separation from the principal comestible. The primary method of so doing at the present time is to separately package the sauce or condiment in an independent package that is in no way necessarily associated with the container for the principal comestible.
A second and at present lesser used method of merchandising such condiments is by means of a container or compartment physically associated with the container for the principal comestible. Various compound containers of this type have heretofore become known and it is with this class of container that the instant invention is concerned.
Primary containers having ancillary structures defining smaller compartments for secondary containers have heretofore become known. Such containers generally have been created for a specific purpose and their structure has been necessarily dictated by that purpose and essentially related to it. The instant invention differs from this art in providing at least one auxiliary container formed essentially separately rather than as a compartment or part of the principal container structure so that it may be formed of materials different from those of the primary container structure to more effectively fulfill its purpose and provide for greater economy as it is oftentimes necessary to provide a specialized, more costly material for containment of condiments than is required for containment of some principal comestible. The instant invention further differs from the prior art in providing a secondary container that is structurally carried by the principal container so that the secondary container may not be accidentally dislodged from its support but yet it is configured as a foldable structure that may be positioned immediately adjacent the principal container walls for storage and opened for condiment containment at the time of use. The instant invention further differs from the prior art in providing a structure that is economically formed from semi-rigid sheet materials in a fashion that is most economic and provides a minimum amount of bulk all to make the container readily adaptable as a throw-away type expendable container in the prepared food industry. Several, if not all of these features have become known per se, in their essence at least, in the prior art, but none of that prior art discloses all of the elements in the particularization or the single compartment as in the instant invention.